‘Music to reshape the world’ – William Alexander

My guest this week sets his novels in a place that is playful and unsettling – a dark, broken place full of clang and clamour. Most suitable for this spooky time of year. He credits this atmosphere to the influence of two musicians – Zoe Keating and Tom Waits. Music seeps through the book’s pores: in a character name (‘Strumgut’), the title (Ghoulish Song), and the mad, sorcerous physics that ensure a bridge does what a bridge should do. He is US National Book Award winner William Alexander and he’ll be here on Wednesday with his impish Undercover Soundtrack.